Prime Minister Robert Fico’s government has lost its guaranteed parliamentary majority after MP Roman Malatinec joined a political project launched by former Environment Minister Tomáš Taraba.
Malatinec announced his decision on the morning of Tuesday, 3 November. He was previously an MP for Hlas, one of the governing coalition parties. After leaving the party, he continued working in parliament alongside Sports Minister Rudolf Huliak and two other MPs as part of the Strana vidieka parliamentary group.
Malatinec explained his move to join Taraba, who was dismissed from the government at the end of September, by saying that he wanted to support a policy focused on tangible results and regional development. He said he held Taraba’s work as environment minister in high regard.
“Tomáš Taraba was an excellent minister who delivered results. I hear from mayors across Slovakia that they cannot remember projects being developed on such a large scale as they were during his time in office,” Malatinec said.
Taraba confirmed that Malatinec had joined his project. According to the former minister, his political initiative, Taraba – Development of Slovakia (Taraba – Rozvoj Slovenska), is open to anyone who wants to focus on solving the country’s problems rather than engaging in political conflicts. Taraba added that Malatinec would primarily deal with cultural affairs.
The Balance of Power in the National Council
Following Malatinec’s move, Taraba’s group now has three MPs. Another former Hlas MP, Peter Slishko, had previously joined it. Formally, Malatinec continues to represent the governing coalition in parliament, but there is no firm agreement yet on how the three MPs will vote on government bills.
Taraba and Slishko say they are willing to discuss individual initiatives with the coalition, but have not promised automatic support for all government proposals. Slishko also stressed that the group is open to negotiations with various political forces. Taraba, meanwhile, said he intended to discuss the terms of cooperation with Prime Minister Robert Fico. According to him, the group’s representatives want to negotiate individual bills and communicate their position directly to the head of government.
Parliamentary Proceedings
The political uncertainty has already affected the work of parliament. On Tuesday, a National Council session scheduled to begin at 9 am was initially postponed because of technical problems. The sitting could not get underway at 10 am either, and its start was delayed by another hour.
Later, MPs backed a proposal from the governing coalition’s parliamentary groups to hold no votes at all during the current week. The initiative was put forward by parliamentary Speaker Richard Raši (Hlas), who did not provide a detailed explanation for the decision.
A total of 76 MPs voted in favour of postponing the votes, including Malatinec. Taraba and Slishko voted against the proposal. Opposition representatives demanded an explanation as to whether the move was linked to the government’s loss of a sufficient number of parliamentary votes.
The next parliamentary vote is now scheduled for Tuesday, 11 November.
Coalition Prepares for Negotiations
Parliamentary Deputy Speaker Tibor Gašpar (Smer) confirmed that the coalition would now have to establish whether it could continue governing with the support of 76 MPs. He said that the next steps would depend on Taraba’s position and the conditions he puts forward to the government.
Gašpar did not rule out the possibility that early parliamentary elections could also be discussed during the negotiations. However, he declined to predict whether the current majority could be preserved.
Roman Michelko, head of the SNS parliamentary group, also expects Taraba to meet with Fico. He said the coalition was ready to discuss the minister’s demands if they were acceptable. According to Michelko, a coalition council meeting is also expected to take place shortly to determine the next steps.
Opposition Calls for Early Elections
Michal Šimečka, leader of Progresívne Slovensko, described the development as the government’s definitive loss of its parliamentary majority and renewed his call for early elections. In his view, Malatinec’s move will usher in a new round of negotiations, with the government having to bargain for every vote in parliament. Šimečka said the situation had become undignified, including for voters who supported the governing parties.
Other opposition politicians also criticised the coalition’s actions. Milan Majerský, leader of the Christian Democrats, said that if the government could not guarantee the necessary support in parliament, it should give up power. The SaS party claims that the coalition now has only 75 votes.
Igor Matovič, leader of the Slovensko movement and a former prime minister, described the governing coalition as a political alliance whose members bargain for support. He suggested that the independence of Taraba’s group should be judged by whether it votes in favour of all government initiatives or only selected proposals.
